What a day!

Wales did it, they are the champions!

It all started in Rome at 2.30 when the Irish and Italian teams walked out to sing the anthems. The Irish looked like they were looking forward to the flight home, and as they sang 'shoulder to shoulder', their faces said it all, they didn't sing it, they talked it! No spark there, they had lost already.

In complete contrast, the Italians were crying as  their anthem echoed around the stadium, and when it finished they started screaming support at each other, no doubt in their minds whatsoever as to who was going to win today! Their hero, Andrea Lo Cicero, retired that day and what a way to go out. He was crying floods as he left the pitch, his first game for Italy had been back in 1999. His team mates couldn't console him.

Wales had the same passion as the Italians, though the English wanted to win almost as much. They showcased the best 'game of the tournament' in Cardiff yesterday, a game that will be talked about in Wales as long as there are voices to be heard. Nobody expected Wales to cruise away with it, they were just so determined, they were on fire, and the English will have their time, but not this year!

France did win, but not by enough to avoid the big wooden spoon, so this is for you France, even though you played a great game, well done. 

To their credit, the Scottish defence were brilliant and they held out for so long, they can be proud of their efforts and they are sure to go one better next year. 

So the final table looks like this…

	Pos	Team	W	D	L	F	A	Pd	Tf	Pts
	1	Wales	4	0	1	122	66	56	9	8
	2	England	4	0	1	94	78	16	5	8
	3	Scotland	2	0	3	98	107	-9	7	4
	4	Italy	2	0	3	75	111	-36	5	4
	5	Ireland	1	1	3	72	81	-9	5	3
	6	France	1	1	3	73	91	-18	6	3

So, what comfort do I get as an Irishman from this years performance?

Well, we were the only team to beat Wales, weren't we!